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Hardline Islamist rebel groups seek to impose Sharia law in Syria's north

With no end in sight to the conflict in Syria, rebel groups have already begun to impose their political will in parts of the country where they hold sway. Some of them are intent on seeing Syria become an Islamic state. They are accused of restricting the rights of women and carrying out Sharia-inspired punishments including extrajudicial killings.

Transcript

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ELEANOR HALL: In Syria, the civil war is driving a de facto political division of the country.

Some rebel groups that have won ground militarily in the north are intent on turning Syria into an Islamic state.

Human rights groups inside the country warn these groups are now carrying out Sharia-inspired punishments, including extrajudicial killings.

Katie Hamann has more.

KATIE HAMANN: As missiles and bullets continue to rain down upon Syria's northern cities, concerns are growing about the hardline Islamist groups stepping into the void.

Last week, a fatwa was reportedly issued in Aleppo banning women from wearing makeup and tight clothing. There have also been reports of public executions and Sharia-inspired punishments.

This push to impose stricter interpretations of Islamic law is allegedly being driven by the al-Qaeda affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.

Professor Greg Barton is the director of Monash University's Centre for Islam and the Modern World.

GREG BARTON: We've seen the formal linking of an element of the fighters with al-Qaeda in Iraq, so the declaration back in April they were making a formal link, which for whatever that's worth suggests they see themselves as representing al-Qaeda in Syria.

And certainly we've seen a lot of evidence in terms of things like martyrs sites and other propaganda sites making it clear that, for some of the fighters, they see themselves as caught up in the same cause as al-Qaeda and sharing the same worldviews, the same very harsh approach and we've seen news stories of capital punishment being meted out on people who have, in their eyes, fallen short of their standards.

KATIE HAMANN: Last week, the BBC told the story of 14-year-old Mohammed Qataa, who was shot dead in an Aleppo street last month.

Mohammed was working at his family's stall when he supposedly blasphemed the Prophet by jokingly rejecting a demand for free coffee by armed rebels.

His mother witnessed her son's execution.

(Mohammed Qataa's mother peaking to BBC reporter in Arabic)

BBC REPORTER: They said, "whoever insults the Prophet will be killed"', she recalls. She goes on: 'I heard the first shot. I'd run out barefoot. I fell to the ground. They shot him again and kicked him. I looked at them and said, "Why are you killing him? He's just a child."'

In a statement, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights accused members of the so-called Religious Committee for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria of the killing.

Professor Barton says while some in Syria may welcome the arrival of hardline rebel groups, the practical consequences of their ambitions are not well understood.

GREG BARTON: More than anything else, they want the fighting to stop and they want peace to be restored. So any group that comes along and offers the promise of that will be met with some interest, and I think for many people, if you polled them now - if you could do that - they'd say 'yes, best end this fighting and have an Islamic state.'

What that actually means in practice is something we have yet to see. We've seen the experience in Egypt, where a narrow electoral win for president Morsi translated into - partly through his own his own ineptitude, but through social tensions - a complete lack of agreement about which way that country should be heading.

So things in Syria will be even very much worse, because it's a more plural society - have that Shia/Sunni split running through it.

KATIE HAMANN: Syria's opposition has been wracked with division in recent months and reports suggest some rebel groups are now fighting each other as well as the government.

Amidst this tumult is the ever-present hand of foreign powers.

On Saturday, the Syrian National Coalition chose Ahmad Jarba as its president, with the backing of Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Professor Barton says Syria has become the latest playground in a broader struggle for influence across the region.

GREG BARTON: Obviously, the elephant in the room here is the role played by Iran, and we've seen Iran's hand intervene very directly through Hezbollah supporting the Assad regime and providing practical training.

Of course, there are other conduits for Iranian support, and Iran is the mortal enemy of Saudi Arabia, so what Saudi Arabia feels more than anything else is that Iran will step into a growing vacuum of space in Syria, just as an anxiety about what's happened in Iraq.